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Thanks for visiting Consumerist.com. As of October 2017, Consumerist is no longer producing new content, but feel free to browse through our archives. Here you can find 12 years worth of articles on everything from how to avoid dodgy scams to writing an effective complaint letter. Check out some of our greatest hits below, explore the categories listed on the left-hand side of the page, or head to CR.org for ratings, reviews, and consumer news.

axe

We’ve all had that moment when we see a commercial for a new product and think, “Hey, I had that idea first.” Usually you just have to shrug it off and reconcile yourself to the fact that you’re not the first person ever to have that thought before. That’s not sitting well over on Reddit, where users are claiming there’s evidence that Axe ripped off a new commercial for shower gel word for word from a redditor’s post. [More]

It’s probably sad that we have to go out of our way and celebrate every time that a company redesigns a product’s packaging and doesn’t reduce the amount of product in the package while keeping the same price. Yet it’s a noteworthy enough occurrence that we like to call attention to and praise the companies that aren’t shaving a little or a lot off in the name of cost-cutting. [More]

Gag-inducing man-spray Axe is fighting back at Old Spice’s recent buzzed about, equestrian-themed campaign with this billboard that says “Axe is for men who’d rather be with a woman than on a horse.” [More]

Over at Ditchwalk today, Mark Barrett points out that sex in mainstream advertising is a tell. There are two things it immediately communicates: that the product is “indistinguishable from its competition,” and that it is generic. You don’t have to stop appreciating libido-stirring images the next time a sexy ad airs (not that you probably could, anyway). But if you keep Barrett’s advice in mind, you may start noticing that some companies are telling you more about their product than they probably mean to. [More]